


the ties that bind us are woven by our own hands

by feralgayanddumbassaoyama



Series: bajur, beskar'gam, aranov, aliit, mando'a, mand'alor | education, armor, self defense, clan, language, leader [1]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka POV, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Not Everyone Dies / Some People Live, Anakin POV, Canon Divergence, Experimental Style, Families of Choice, Gen, Mandalorian Ahsoka Tano, Mandalorian Culture, Multiple Pov, Non-Linear Narrative, Obi-Wan POV, Satine Kryze Critical, Unreliable Narrator, Ursa POV, ahsoka is. bitter lol., in order we got, minor OCs - Freeform, tho its mostly ahsoka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29689122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feralgayanddumbassaoyama/pseuds/feralgayanddumbassaoyama
Summary: Lady Ahsoka Tano leaves Coruscant for the final time when she is sixteen years old and barely a month out of the Temple.Let me keep my bike here, just in case, she says to Rafe and Trace, and knows as she says it that she will never see either them or the bike again.Ahsoka Tano swears the Resol’nare when she is seventeen years old, and dons her armor for the first time on the frozen mountains of Krownest, the seat of Clan Wren.(Canon divergent AU, starting from when Ahsoka leaves the Martezes with Bo-Katan)
Relationships: Ahsoka Tano & Ursa Wren, Past Ahsoka Tano & Anakin Skywalker, Past Ahsoka Tano & Obi-Wan Kenobi
Series: bajur, beskar'gam, aranov, aliit, mando'a, mand'alor | education, armor, self defense, clan, language, leader [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2181783
Comments: 8
Kudos: 33





	the ties that bind us are woven by our own hands

**Author's Note:**

> Major character death is because maul gets killed 
> 
> unreliable narrator is because ahsoka is a traumatized 16/17 y/o. the way she talks about people is not necessarily indicative of how those people actually Are.
> 
> Sela Tenau belongs to the amazing its-captain-sir on tumblr, who let me borrow her for this! Megan was also kind enough to give this a look-over before I posted it :)

Anakin’s just finished up the last of the Seppie droids (with a _little_ help from Obi-Wan and their men) when his comm beeps.

_Skywalker here_ , he answers on rote, then reads the commcode. _What is it, Admiral?_ Cleanup would take a few hours yet, and while Anakin always hates that part of battles, always wanting to _go go go_ , he knows it’s important, and so does Admiral Yularen, so why is he bothering them?

_Sir_ , Yularen begins, _We’ve received a transmission from someone using your subspace frequency ‘Fulcrum’._

Anakin looks at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan looks at him, and then away. 

_Saw Gerrera?_ Anakin asks. He’s the only one who knows that frequency. Well, not the _only_ one, but he’s the only one who knows it and currently has a reason to use it, so. Same thing.

_Perhaps the siege at Onderon has taken a turn for the worse,_ Obi-Wan suggests, stroking his beard in thought.

_No, sir_ , Yularen says, _It’s not Gerrera._

Anakin and Obi-Wan both look to his comm in confusion, as though the Admiral can actually see their faces. _You had best take this transmission here on the ship,_ he suggests, in that way that’s not _technically_ an order because they outrank him but should be _treated_ as one because he knows better, sometimes. Anakin raises an eyebrow at Obi-Wan.

_Both of you_ , Yularen adds.

  
  
  


Obi-Wan has a bad feeling about this.

It’s not something he can explain, and Anakin doesn’t seem to share it, and he _knows_ that it’s completely unfounded, probably, because if it was anything apocalyptically bad, Yularen would have told them from the outset, but he has a _bad feeling_ about this.

_Alright, Admiral,_ Anakin says, sauntering into the communications room with all of the professionalism of a particularly brave tooka. _What’s so important you brought us all the way back here?_

_Why don’t you see for yourself_? Yularen suggests, stepping aside to reveal a life-size holo-transmission, displaying two Mandalorians in full armor, one of whom is wearing Death Watch blue, except that can’t be right, because Death Watch is under Maul now, isn’t it? 

Obi-Wan registers the white of the symbol on their helmet and chastises himself. Not Death Watch -- _Nite Owl_.

_Masters Jedi,_ the Nite Owl says, and _oh_ , Obi-Wan recognizes that voice even through the helmet. _It’s been some time_.

_Lady Bo-Katan,_ he says, and speaks no further. Anakin looks to be full to bursting with impatience, but stays blessedly silent. _Not a social call, I presume?_

_Hardly,_ she scoffs. _I have… information, for you. Both of you,_ she adds, gesturing to Anakin with a minute jerk of her head.

_What is it?_ Anakin asks.

_My… lieutenant and I have located the renegade Sith Lord, Maul, and we believe that we can capture him if we move fast_.

From the way she speaks, it’s clear that the lieutenant that Bo-Katan refers to is the other person with her, though she hesitates on the word for reasons which Obi-Wan cannot even begin to contemplate at the moment. They are a togruta, possibly female, though it’s hard to tell, wearing armor lacking the traditional Death Watch paint, instead opting for a combination of orange, green, blue, and purple, with much of the armor left unpainted. 

A mystery for another time, Obi-Wan supposes, though there is something about them that bothers him in a way he can’t describe. 

Obi-Wan and Anakin look at each other.

_Please, come aboard_ , Obi-Wan tells her.

His bad feeling has only increased.

  
  
  


By the time Bo-Katan’s shuttle lands in the main hangar bay, his nerves are strung so tight that he almost gives the order to evacuate the bay, ridiculous as it is.

Anakin is silent by his side as they settle in to watch the shuttle land.

It lands in the center of the hangar bay and the occupants disembark.

Bo-Katan. Four humans or near-humans. The togruta lieutenant. 

Except…

That Force signature, so familiar, but… it _couldn’t_ be.

Could it?

The lieutenant is the second to disembark, alongside someone in gold and grey armor. It’s only through sheer force of will that Obi-Wan manages to keep his eyes on Bo-Katan, and not them, but he knows that if he looks over at Anakin then he will see that his former Padawan is maintaining no such discipline.

_Lady Bo-Katan,_ he calls out, holding out his arm. She grasps it firmly, wrist to elbow.

_Generals,_ she says, and it is at that point that Anakin seems to exhaust the last of his self control.

_Snips?_ he says, voice coming out slightly strangled. _H-how?_

Bo-Katan turns to look at the togruta. The human standing next to them knocks their shoulders together, in a way that conveys such familiarity that it almost breaks Obi-Wan.

The togruta removes the faceplate of their helmet, a modified version of the standard Mandalorian helmet, with many parts to allow for lekku and montrals.

  
  


From behind the faceplate emerges the face of Ahsoka Tano, now a year older, and a near-perfect stranger.

_Hello, General Skywalker,_ she says, the personification of cool professionalism. Obi-Wan would be proud, if he didn’t feel like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on him. _It’s been a long time._

* * *

_Ahsoka_ , Knight Skywalker says, like they are still friends, like she is here for him as Anakin and not General Skywalker, _I’m so-_

_There isn’t time for that_ , she tells him, and tries not to sound bitter.

_Every minute we waste here gives Maul an opportunity to slip away_ , Bo-Katan says, and Ahsoka tries not to feel grateful for anything Bo-Katan does, she really, really tries, but the woman is a force to be reckoned with in a way that Ahsoka simply cannot yet match, at least not in the eyes of Anakin and Obi-Wan, so she does not entirely succeed.

Obi-Wan looks from Anakin to Ahsoka and back to Anakin, likely trying to estimate Anakin’s emotional state and his subsequent volatility.

_We understand,_ he says, so he must decide that Anakin is within acceptable parameters. _Please, follow me._

Anakin, for once in his life, does not follow Obi-Wan immediately. A year ago, Ahsoka would have stayed by his side, loyal Padawan that she was. Now, no longer a Jedi, she follows Bo-Katan.

_We’ve been tracking Maul’s movements for several months_ , Ahsoka opens with, because it's mostly true and makes her sound like she’s been with the Nite Owls for longer than she actually has. It’s not like she hasn’t been helping with Maul, anyways. _I was able to obtain some transmission codes from the Pykes on Oba Diah, which helped us pinpoint some of his previous locations._

_What were you doing on Oba Diah?_ , Anakin asks sharply, like there’s more than one reason anybody goes to Oba Diah.

_That’s not relevant right now_ , she says, because he does not have a right to that information anymore. 

_What is relevant,_ Bo-Katan cuts in, _is that we know Maul is on Mandalore, in the city of Sundari._

_You’re certain of this?_ , Obi-Wan asks, and Ahsoka tries not to be offended. They wouldn’t be here if they weren’t certain.

Bo-Katan bristles at the slight. _He arrived two days ago_ , she says.

_So why not take him yourself?_ , he asks, though Ahsoka knows he already knows the answer, or at least strongly suspects it. _Or,_ he says, _to be more specific, what do you want from the Republic?_

Ahsoka looks to Bo-Katan and Bo-Katan looks to her, and she nods. Play his game, she doesn’t say, it’s the only way to get him to agree.

_We don’t have the numbers needed for a siege_ , Bo-Katan says. _Without a complete lockdown of the city, Maul will escape again. That’s why I’m proposing a joint operation. If we are successful, you’ll have Maul and I’ll have Mandalore._

Not for the first time, Ahsoka wonders which is really more important to Bo-Katan: the mando’ade, or the throne?

Obi-Wan and Anakin look at each other, and she wonders if they picked up on it too. Obi-Wan, she knows, probably has, though Anakin might not have.

_If Republic forces aid you in your assault_ , Obi-Wan says, _it will break treaties that are one hundred years old. We will effectively be drawn into yet another war._

Ahsoka had known that, of course, had guessed as much, but to hear it stated so plainly-

_What’s one more?_ Bo-Katan scoffs.

-it does not sit well with her at all.

Obi-Wan draws back. Of course they had both known Bo-Katan didn’t care about the lives of her people, but to practically say it outright… well, at the very least, it isn’t smart.

_Well,_ Anakin says, in a way that if this were not Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka would characterize as nervous, _we’re not finished with our first one yet._

Ahsoka carefully does not look at Obi-Wan. Your first war, she doesn’t say. Not everybody’s.

Instead, she looks at Bo-Katan, because, well, the Clone Wars aren’t her first war either, and the woman scowls.

_I will advise the Jedi Council of this development_ , Obi-Wan says, and turns to leave.

This development, he says, like people aren’t dying.

_There’s no time,_ Bo-Katan says, and Ahsoka hopes she is imagining how her voice cracks, just a little bit. _Maul’s influence on Mandalore is destroying my people!_ , she says, like she wouldn’t do the same. _He murdered their ruler, my sister_ , she says, as though she would not have gladly pulled the trigger herself if it meant Mandalore on a plate. _I thought she meant something to you._

Ahsoka cannot see Obi-Wan’s face, for which she is grateful. 

_She did_ , he says, _and still does. But I cannot allow my feelings to cloud my judgement_ , he says, and Ahsoka has the cold feeling that it is not his feelings for Satine to which he is referring. _The council will decide what our course of action will be_.

He leaves.

Of course. Obi-Wan Kenobi, seemingly always ready to flaunt the Council, except when it comes to Ahsoka.

_I told you this was a waste of time_ , Bo-Katan says, and then she, too, leaves.

* * *

  
  
  


Lady Ahsoka Tano leaves Coruscant for the final time when she is sixteen years old and barely a month out of the Temple.

_Let me keep my bike here, just in case_ , she says to Rafe and Trace, and knows as she says it that she will never see either them or the bike again.

Funny, the gifts the Force gives.

She flies away with Bo-Katan and is swiftly handed off to her lieutenant, Ursa Wren. _She’s going to show you around_ , she says, and leaves.

Ursa Wren looks at her like she would rather not be doing this, which is only fair, Ahsoka guesses. Nobody wants to have to show the newbie around. She’s at least polite about it, which is more than she expected.

She’s a little warmer when Ahsoka says she knows Mando’a, or at least the dialect used in the GAR, and says she’ll show her some of the alphabet when she can.

_This is different than I thought it would be_ , Ahsoka admits. _Nicer._

_Of course it is,_ Ursa says, _you only knew about Mando’ade from Satine Kryze._

_I knew she was biased_ , Ahsoka says, _but I didn’t know it was this much. I thought that as a Mandalorian…_ she doesn’t finish the thought.

_Satine Kryze was born in the Mandalorian system,_ Ursa says, _but she wasn’t Mando’ad. There’s a difference._

_Oh,_ Ahsoka says. _I’m sorry_.

_The education you received is not your crime to bear_ , Ursa says. 

_I should have done my own learning_ , Ahsoka counters, _would you help me?_

A smile tugs at the edge of Ursa’s lips. _Of course,_ she says. _Education is sacred to the Mando’ade._

_When a Mandalorian child comes of age, they complete the Verd’goten, our coming of age ritual, and swear the Resol’nare, the Six Actions, which define our life. Satine Kryze didn’t follow them, which makes her either aruetii, an outsider, if she never pledged them at all, or dar’manda, someone that was mando’ad but has forsaken it._

_Oh_ , Ahsoka says. _What are the Six - the Resol’nare?_

_Bajur, beskar’gam, aranov, aliit, mando’a, cuun Mand’alor,_ she recites, and waits for Ahsoka to mentaly translate it.

_Education, armor, defense, clan, language, the Mand’alor?_ , she hazards. _That doesn’t sound bad. That sounds… good, actually._

_Aranov means self-defense, in this context, but yes,_ Ursa says, _the Resol’nare is not a bad thing. Despite what you may have heard, we do not love fighting for it’s own sake._

_So why did Satine say so?_ Ahsoka asks, and even as she says it she tastes her own naïveté on her lips.

_Nevermind_ , she says bitterly. _Propaganda_.

Ursa inclines her head. _That was a part of it, yes_ , she says, _and Vizsla hasn’t always made it a hard bit to sell, either, I must admit. But you knew the woman, what do you think?_

Ahsoka thinks about that. She’s still thinking about it when she’s trying to go to sleep on the hard little cot she was provided to sleep upon, unable to do so.

What do you think, Ursa had asked her, and she doesn’t know, because the more time she spends with the mando’ade, the more she sees…

Well, the more she sees her brothers in them, or them in her brothers, or perhaps both, and she could never hate her brothers. 

Ursa claimed she knew Satine Kryze, but had she really? She had trusted her, because Master Obi-Wan did, but was she right to? Obi-Wan wasn’t infallible, she knew that well enough -- he had all but handed her off to the Republic to be executed, hadn’t he?

Or maybe he hadn’t. She doesn’t want to believe he would do that, but the last time she’d spoken to him had been even before her trial. 

He’d been wrong then -- how much of a stretch would it be, if he was wrong about Satine?

Anakin told her a story, once, of a mission he and Obi-Wan had undertaken to protect the Duchess, wherein her life had been threatened, gun to her neck, and she had begged Obi-Wan to spare her captors life for her own ideals, even though the man threatened much more than just Satine herself.

Anakin had killed the man, he’d boasted, lightsaber through the chest, and Ahsoka had smiled and congratulated him on a mission well done.

Ahsoka had admired Satine’s commitment to her ideals, then, but now she wondered: if the woman had been given the choice, kill someone or watch them kill an innocent, two innocents, hundreds, thousands, _millions_ of people, would she have done it? Or would she stand by and watch them take the lives of those who had done no wrong?

She supposes she’ll never know. Satine Kryze is dead, and a Sith Lord rules in her place.

The thought doesn’t comfort her.

It was a choice Ahsoka had had to make, time and time again, after all. She would never let an innocent die, if she could help it, even if she was no longer a Jedi. 

  
  
  


Ahsoka finds Ursa again, later.

_You said that when someone comes of age, they complete the Verd’goten_ , she says. _What about those that can’t? Like, they never get the chance, for whatever reason?_

_That’s a very clever question_ , Ursa says. _The answer depends. There’s a few different solutions. The Verd’goten is usually undertaken at thirteen, but those older can undertake it as well. It’s rarely undertaken past the age of sixteen, but that’s not unheard of. Older foundlings, of course, just swear the Resol’nare._

_Foundlings?_ Ahsoka asks.

Ursa glances about. _Traditionally, anybody can become mando’ad, so long as they have mandokar. They would be taken into a clan, and depending on age, would complete the Verd’goten, or, if they’re already an adult, they would swear the Resol’nare._

She’s nervous, Ahsoka realizes. She couldn’t tell, at first, because she’s wearing her helmet now, but Ursa is nervous talking about foundlings.

_Does not everybody like that?_ she asks.

_Bo-Katan says that foundlings dilute our traditions,_ Ursa says mechanically.

_You disagree_ , Ahsoka says, lowering her voice. Nobody is in hearing range, she knows, would know even if she was as much of a force-null as Ursa, because her montrals aren’t fully developed but she can still hear things outside of a human’s range. 

_Of course I do_ , Ursa hisses at her. _Foundlings are the intersection of education and clan. They’re one of the fundamental parts of being mando’ade. To say otherwise is-_ she cuts herself off. Straightens, because as she was speaking, she had leaned towards Ahsoka, to minimize the space her voice had to carry so she could speak even lower.

_I apologize for my outburst, Lady Tano_ , she says.

_You did nothing wrong_ , Ahsoka says. _In fact, it was quite… informative_.

Ursa nods. They part ways. 

  
  
  


_What happens if someone swears the Resol’nare, but then breaks one of the tenets?_

_Then they forsake their identity and soul and become Dar’Manda._

_Oh._

  
  
  


_I have a gift for you_ , Ursa says.

_Oh?_ Ahsoka responds.

_Yes_ , she says, and hands her twin blaster pistols.

Ahsoka cradles them in her hands like something precious, which they are. She knows the importance of weaponry to the mando’ade.

She tries to say something, anything, that could possibly encompass the sheer breadth of her feelings, but can’t.

_My brother uses pistols like this_ , is what she says instead.

_Tell me about him?_ , Ursa asks.

_Captain Rex of the 501st Legion,_ Ahsoka says, and ignores how her voice cracks over the word captain. Force, she misses him. They manage to comm, sometimes, which is more communication than she’s kept with Anakin or Obi-Wan, but she still misses him.

_He’s the one that taught me how to fight hand to hand,_ she says, _and how to use a blaster. He thought it was silly, that I didn’t know those things._

_You miss him_ , Ursa says, and it isn’t a question.

_More than anything_ , she says.

_Do you still talk?_ she asks.

_Sometimes_ , Ahsoka says, _but it’s not allowed. I’m a civilian, technically. Anakin - General Skywalker usually looks the other way, for that sort of thing, but he might be upset if he found out Rex was talking to me, because. Well._

_I see_ , Ursa says, and her lips are pursed a little. She keeps a tight leash on her emotions, like most of the mando’ade, but Ahsoka brushes up against her with the Force, a little bit, and senses… longing. Sadness, maybe. Anger?

Ahsoka pulls away.

_Thank you, Ursa,_ she says. _This means-so much. Thank you._

_I know,_ Ursa says, and almost nothing Ahsoka has seen of her could be described as gentle, but the way she says that almost could be.

  
  
  


_How does armor work if you have lekku?_ Ahsoka asks.

_Hm,_ Ursa says. _I’m probably not the best person to ask._

_Yeah, but,_ she says, and stops herself before she can say something embarrassing like ‘you’re the only one I wanted to ask’.

_There’s somebody I want you to meet_ , Ursa says. _Later, though._

_Okay,_ Ahsoka says, _thank you_.

  
  
  


Later turns out to mean in less than an hour, because Ursa had had a meeting that she’d expected to last much longer than it did, but ended early when someone started throwing things. Bo-Katan, Ahsoka presumes, though Ursa won’t say.

This is how Ahsoka meets Sela Tenau.

_Nice to see another Togruta around,_ she says. Ahsoka nods.

Funny. She’s never had a problem with shyness before.

_Ahsoka was wondering_ , Ursa explains, _about armor for non-humans._

_I see_ , Sela says, _thinking of pledging?_

Ahsoka shrugs. _Not sure yet_ , she says, more with her montrals than with her mouth. _Maybe_ , she says, and this time it's in a range she’s confident humans can hear.

She sneaks a glance. Ursa’s face is impassive. This is the first time Ahsoka has said anything about considering becoming mando’ade.

Sela nods and doesn’t judge her and shows her how her armor is constructed, especially the helmet and her bodyglove, where the main differences for montrals and lekku are. 

They’re not actually modifications to a standard construction design, she explains, but rather, that _is_ the standard construction for togruta mando’ade. What Ahsoka has been thinking of as the standard helmet construction is only the standard for _humans_. The mando’ade have been around long enough that there’s a standard way to construct beskar’gam for almost every known species in the galaxy, if you knew where to find them.

Neither of them comment on the fact that Sela is the first togruta that Ahsoka has seen here besides herself. 

  
  
  


_If you chose to swear the Resol’nare,_ Ursa says, and then stops. _If you chose to swear the Resol’nare, Clan Wren would be happy to take you in._

_I am honored,_ Ahsoka says, throat tight, _but I am also sorry, for I already have a Clan,_ and as she says it she thinks of a thousand men with the same face, each of whom she could call vod.

Ursa nods. _I thought you might say that,_ she says, and there is no anger in her voice. _I wanted to offer anyway._

_Thank you_ , Ahsoka says again, one hand resting on the belt which carries her holsters, grey synthleather with silver and gold blasters. 

  
  
  


Ahsoka Tano swears the Resol’nare when she is seventeen years old, and dons her armor for the first time on the frozen mountains of Krownest, the seat of Clan Wren.

_You are now a child of Manda with no clan_ , Ursa says to her.

_You know that isn’t true,_ Ahsoka says, and if it was anybody besides Ursa anger would coat her words, but because it is Ursa, they are blank, waiting to be colored with whatever emotion may yet come.

_I do_ , Ursa says, _but how many others do?_

_The ones that matter_ , Ahsoka says. 

_Very good_ , Ursa says, and she can hear the smile in her voice.

Ahsoka has a clan and it is three million strong. She knows not its name, as it does not have one, though she knows in her bones that that will change. 

  
  
  


( _Why did you join Death Watch?_ Ahsoka asks her, once, and Ursa pauses, considering, making sure her answer is truthful and honest but also will make sense to someone who, for all her enthusiasm, still does not know much of the depths of the history of the mando’ade.

_Because by the time I was old enough to choose,_ she says, _it was the only option left_.

_So there used to be others?_ Ahsoka asks, as Ursa knew she would, because she is both clever and curious and picks up on small turns of phrase like that.

_Yes,_ Ursa says, _Once upon a time, there was the Haat Mando’ade._

_Oh,_ Ahsoka says, _What happened to them?_

_They were killed_ , Ursa says simply, because that is the truth, and it is one that she and Ahsoka both are intimately familiar with. _By jettiise_ , she says, because that is the truth as well and it is the sort of thing she thinks Ahsoka would like to know.

_Oh_ , Ahsoka says, again. _I’m sorry._

_You weren’t born yet,_ Ursa tells her. It isn’t gentle, because Ursa is not a gentle person, but it has all of the kindness that she can give.

_I know. But I’ve never heard of the Haat Mando’ade before, because they don’t teach us about it at the Temple, but it feels like we should have been, so that feels like they probably haven’t said sorry themselves. And I’m the closest you’re probably going to get.)_

* * *

  
  


_You’ve changed,_ Anakin tells her, and she wants to laugh, because she hasn’t, not really, and she wants to cry, because he sounds so… _accusing_. 

_No,_ she says, _I haven’t. Neither have you._

_Is that a bad thing?_ He asks, challengingly.

Yes, she wants to say, but doesn’t, just stays silent and schools her face.

  
  
  


_I have a gift for you_ , he says as he takes her to the hangar. Rex is there, waiting. _I asked him to get it as soon as you - as soon as I realized you were here._

_Sir,_ Rex greets, but does not salute, because his hands are holding out a lacquered wooden box.

Ahsoka knows what is in that box.

Anakin takes the box from him and opens it, and inside are two lightsabers.

Ahsoka’s lightsabers.

_I took care of them_ , he says, _they’re good as new._

She reaches out, and ignites them, blue so bright it almost burns her eyes.

_Maybe better,_ he says, and laughs, as though they are his to give and take and tinker with and influence as he pleases, as though they were not Ahsoka’s all along.

This weapon is your life, the masters had told her. She is a Jedi no longer, but first lessons are hard to unlearn, and this is one Anakin knows better than her. Who is he, to think he holds her life in his hands, to give away as he pleases?

She says nothing, and clips the sabers to her belt, and his smile fades.

  
  
  


_Anakin, Rex,_ Obi-Wan says, _prepare all forces, we’re jumping to hyperspace._

Rex, hands freed, salutes. He nods sharply to Ahsoka, claps her on the shoulder, and rallies the men.

_So the attack on Mandalore was approved?_ Anakin asks.

_No_ , Obi-Wan says, looking grim, _it’s Coruscant. Grievous has attacked the capitol._

_What about the Chancellor?_ , Anakin asks, and Ahsoka would roll her eyes at how predictable he is, if she was wearing her full helmet, but she’s not. Then she remembers that Padmé is on Coruscant, and shouldn’t he be worried about his wife?

_Shaak Ti has been sent to protect him_ , Obi-Wan says, _But Master Windu has lost contact with her. Not to worry, our fleet can be there within the hour._

_So that’s it, then?_ Ahsoka asks, acid in her teeth. _You’re going to just abandon us?_ Like you abandoned me, she doesn’t say, but she can tell that he gets the message and is hurt. 

Good.

_Ahsoka_ , Obi-Wan says, and oh yes, she remembers that tone of voice, the one that got him the name Negotiator. _Surely you understand this is a pivotal moment in the Clone Wars. The heart of the Republic is under attack._

I taught you enough to recognize this, she hears him not say. I taught you to forsake yourself, he means.

_I understand that, as usual, you’re playing politics,_ she bites out. _This is why the people have lost faith in the Jedi! You’re never there for the people that truly need you, just where the Republic points you!_

_Right now, people on Coruscant need us_ , Obi-Wan says. 

_No,_ she corrects, _the Chancellor needs you_. 

_That’s not fair_ , he says.

_I’m not trying to be_ , she retorts. _Look, divide up the 501st, create a new division._

_Under whose command?_ Obi-Wan asks, raising a brow like she was some simpering politician he could cow with words. _You are no longer a part of the Grand Army of the Republic_ , he says, and it’s probably meant to hurt, and it does, a little bit, but not as much as it would have if it came from Rex’s mouth.

_Promote Rex to Commander and have him lead_ , she says. _I can serve in an advisory position._

_Hm_ , Obi-Wan says, and strokes his beard. _Anakin?_

_That sounds great, Ahsoka,_ he says. He sounds surprised, which makes her more than a little bitter. Every battle he fought for almost two years, she’d been right there with him. Did he think she hadn’t learnt anything?

_Very well_ , Obi-Wan says. _May the Force be with you._

* * *

  
  


_There are a small number of firefights still happening in sector eleven,_ Bo-Katan reports, _but for the most part, your clones have been as effective as promised._ _Still, without Maul taken care of, this could all fall apart quickly. We need to get to him before he escapes._

Ahsoka doesn’t like the way that she says ‘clones’. She sneaks a glance at Rex to gauge his reaction, and to her utter lack of surprise, his face is completely impassive. This is, after all, treatment he is more than used to.

Ahsoka reminds herself that as soon as this campaign is over, they will never have to deal with Bo-Katan again, and that is yet another reason to finish it quickly.

_He mentioned a name,_ she says. _Darth Sidious._

_Who is this… Sidious?_ , Bo-Katan asks sharply, aimed more at Obi-Wan than at either of them. They, obviously, have never heard the name before.

_I do not know much, but I will share with you what the council suspects_ , Obi-Wan says, and motions to Rex to send the astromech -- and the projection of Sundari -- away. Paranoia, or a recognition that it was simply no longer needed? Ahsoka doesn’t know anymore.

_Darth Sidious is the Sith Lord who orchestrated the Clone Wars and played both sides of it from the beginning,_ Obi-Wan says, and Ahsoka isn’t really surprised by that. Darth is a title used only by the Sith, and the Jedi -- Obi-Wan especially -- have long suspected that the Sith were behind the Clone Wars in some capacity, though how or to what extent she doesn’t know. Perhaps, she muses, this has now all been revealed to the Council.

_I first learned the name from Count Dooku,_ Obi-Wan continues, _though any chance of learning more about Sidious from Dooku has been lost._

Ahsoka raises an eyebrow. _Why?_

Surely he doesn’t mean-?

_Because Count Dooku is dead,_ he says simply. _Anakin killed him while rescuing the Chancellor._

Ahsoka catches her breath. Killing Dooku, to her mind, is a perfectly reasonable thing to do, especially in the heat of battle, but.

But Jedi aren’t supposed to kill people. That’s why Jedi train so hard, after all -- so they can diffuse any situation with as few deaths as possible. 

And Anakin is supposed to be the _best_ Jedi. Or at least, one of the best duelists, at any rate. 

Isn’t he? 

Of course, she thinks darkly, that isn’t always the case.

_With Dooku gone, we’ve lost a vital link to understanding the mystery of Darth Sidious,_ Obi-Wan says. _If you can capture Maul, he may be able to provide the missing pieces to this puzzle._

Ahsoka sincerely doubts that the Jedi could make Maul say a single thing he doesn’t truly want to, but-

_If you want us to capture Maul,_ she says coolly, _then send me more men_.

Capturing Maul is an option that she would love to have in her arsenal right now, but it simply doesn’t seem realistic. She doubts they have anything that can hold him, so any capture would be less putting Maul in a cage and more putting themselves in a cage _with Maul_. As it stands, killing him looks like the most likely option, though Ahsoka hasn’t discussed it with Bo-Katan.

_Unfortunately, I cannot. I’m being sent to hunt down Grevious on Utapau,_ Obi-Wan says, and she hates hates _hates_ how he looks like he really would rather be here, with her, because it is the first time he’s expressed such sentiment, and if he really felt that way then he wouldn’t have turned his back when the very hands that raised her struck her down and called her a murderer.

_What about General Skywalker?_ She asks. _Or is he also busy?_

She says ‘busy’ much more vehemently than she means to, and Obi-Wan looks stricken for a second before smoothing it over.

_May I speak to Ahsoka alone for a moment?_ He asks, glancing around furtively. Ahsoka wonders where he is, if he’s truly that worried about people overhearing him.

Bo-Katan scowls, but stalks off without another word. Rex turns to follow, but Ahsoka holds up a hand, stopping him.

_Anything you can say to me,_ she says, _you can say to Rex._

_Ahsoka,_ Obi-Wan says, a note of pleading in his voice, _I really don’t think that’s for the best._

_Well then._ Ahsoka says. _I think we’re done here, if you have nothing more to say._

_Ahsoka,_ he sighs, _it’s classified._

Ahsoka scowls at him. _If it’s classified,_ she says, _then I shouldn’t be hearing it either. I am no longer affiliated with either the Republic or the Jedi._

Obi-Wan sighs again. _Of course,_ he says wearily, and then signs off.

  
  


* * *

  
  


_Go_ , Ahsoka says to Bo-Katan, and tries not to be disappointed when she puts up no fight. Even a little concern for her wellbeing would be appreciated, right about now.

_Look at them_ , Maul says, looking across the torn cityscape of Sundari. _So blissfully ignorant._

_Care to tell me what this is about?_ , Ahsoka asks, because men like Maul always have an end goal, something to reach towards, something to finish. _Or would you rather save it for the Senate?_

_Oh, no, no, no_ , Maul says, and laughs, like any of this is funny. _You are the one I wish to speak with. Were you not cast out of your Order?_

_I left voluntarily_ , she says, shifting her weight. She would much rather he just get to the point.

_Yes_ , Maul says, _but you were motivated to leave by the hypocrisy of the Jedi council_.

I was motivated to leave because of the war, Ahsoka doesn’t say, because it is better for Maul to think he knows her and be wrong than it is for him to know her and use that.

_We were both tools for greater powers_ , he says, and he sounds sad enough that in any other time, at any other place, she might feel sorry for him. If she were still a Jedi, perhaps. 

But Ahsoka Tano is no Jedi, so all she feels is cold anger that this monster thinks they are the same.

_I am here to bring you to justice,_ she says.

_Justice is merely the construct of the current power base_ , he dismisses. _A base, which, according to my calculations, is about to change._

Of course it is, she wants to say. I’m about to kill you.

_And Sidious is behind it?_ she guesses, knows, because of course he is.

_He is behind everything_ , Maul says, and she tastes his fear like fresh blood. _In the shadows, always. But soon, very soon… he will reveal himself._

He looks about like he is waiting for someone to spring from the shadows. Learned paranoia, she recognizes. The very back of her mind informs Ahsoka that he would probably benefit from extensive therapy, but she ignores it. If he went to prison, instead of being a casualty of his own war, or being handed the death sentence, she would see about pushing for mandated counseling, but that is a problem for another time.

_With your help, we can stop Sidious before it’s too late_ , she says, and her words ring true in the Force, even as it also tells her they will never come to pass.

_Too late for what?_ Maul scoffs. _The Republic to fall? It already has, and you just can’t see it! There is no justice, no law, no order, except for the one that will replace it! The time of the Jedi has passed. They cannot defeat Sidious,_ he says, and that, too, carries a note of truth, but Ahsoka had not been talking of the Jedi when she spoke of _we_ , perhaps had not even been speaking of Maul.

_But together,_ he says, _you and I can._ Explosions echo outside, and Ahsoka is reminded, vividly, of a celebration she had witnessed, early in her time at the Temple, with fireworks outshining even the perpetual nighttime glow of Coruscant. If she closed her eyes, now, she would not be able to tell the bombs from the fireworks.

_Every choice you have made,_ Maul says, _has lead you to this moment_ , and holds out a hand to her, and she wants to laugh at him, because that’s how life works, every choice leading to every other choice, moments leading into moments into moments into moments, but that doesn’t _mean_ anything, doesn’t make any moment more important than any other except for what you decide after the fact, and they are still in the moment and she has decided she will make it a forgettable one.

The window shatters and glass fills the air around them and Ahsoka makes her decision.

She could join Maul, but she does not want to. 

_I will help you_ , she says, and he smiles, _but I will not join you_ , she says, and his smile vanishes and she draws her sabers and he snarls and she ignites them and he howls and they speak no more.

His saberstaff, she notes, is the red of the Sith, and could even be the very same one that was used to cut down the grandmaster of her former master, thirteen years ago on Naboo, though truthfully she does not care, because the important part is that he has another saber on his belt that he is not using.

_We could have destroyed Sidious!_ Maul rages.

_Only for you to take his place!_ she says, because old lessons are not forgotten and that is the way of the Sith.

Maul roars, and leaps from one of the shattered and ruined windows, and she follows him, until they are both dizzyingly high up above even the tallest building, amongst the support girders on the inner dome of Sundari where the false stars lie.

The fight seems to exist out of time, simply the clashing of superheated blades and their own battlecries, two top hunters battling for the same territory.

A white light fills Ahsoka’s eyes, rendering them temporarily useless, but she has montrals and the Force so she is not blinded.

_Lord Maul_ , a female voice says, and Ahsoka identifies both it and the light as coming from a small shuttle. _We must depart immediately_.

Maul looks away for a split second too long, at the ship, and she lunges, but he uses her momentum against her and leverages one of her blades away, arcing over the city, and beneath her helmet she bares her teeth.

She blocks a strike from him, but he is above her and bearing down and she loses her other saber, too, and they back away from each other and he cuts the girder they’re on, but he does not yet go to his ship, which is stupid but Ahsoka will use it to her advantage.

_I give you one last chance_ , Maul says, and she almost rolls her eyes beneath her helm, because he was putting his life on the line to try and rope in a new Apprentice? Really? 

_Join me_ , he says, _or die._

Ahsoka growls, a low, rumbling noise in her montrals, outside of zabrak hearing range but something he should still be able to feel, deep in his belly.

_Never,_ she says, and lunges.

She grabs his saberstaff, twisting and using the leverage to throw him off the girder, using the proximity to grab the other saber off his belt. She catches him with the Force, and stares at him.

_Let me go!_ , he screams, _Let me DIE!,_ he begs.

_As you wish, my Lord_ , Ahsoka says, and his eyes widen for a fraction of a second before his body goes slack, three smoking holes in it -- one in his head, and two for each of his hearts.

Just to make sure he really is dead, because she’s heard the story of Naboo and even if she hadn’t, she knows the Sith are like the worst sort of cockroaches, she ignites his -- her saber, and cuts his head off.

She lets his body fall, and the Darksaber glows dark in the artificial night. Outside, the sun is rising.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This is a prequel/teaser for a longer series :^) ive been working on it for the past month or so and I am VERY excited to share it. Comments are HUGELY appreciated, they really encourage me to write!
> 
> im on tumblr at dykepixie


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